Modern Xiaomi smartphones, which run on the shells of MIUI or the new HyperOS, have a powerful memory optimization system that often works too aggressively. Users often face a situation where messengers stop sending notifications, music is interrupted when they go to the menu, or the navigator resets the route as soon as the screen goes out, all of these problems are directly related to how the system manages running processes in the background.
Understanding where to view applications in the background in Xiaomi is key to manually configuring your device. Standard algorithms may mistakenly shut down services that are important to you as being battery-consuming, while unnecessary software continues to hang in your memory. In this article, we will detail the ways to access the list of active processes, learn to distinguish between system and user tasks, and set exceptions for mission-critical programs.
Background activity management allows you not only to fix problems with notifications, but also significantly extend the battery life of the gadget, if you, on the contrary, want to limit voracious applications. We will consider the developer’s regular tools, hidden debugging menus and standard battery settings that give full control over the Android operating system in conjunction with the manufacturer’s proprietary add-ons.
Staff menu of running applications and recent tasks
The most obvious, but not always informative, way to see what works right now is through the recent task menu, which is called a bottom-up swipe on Xiaomi devices with a delay or press of the Menu button depending on the type of navigation, but it is important to understand the difference between frozen screenshots on this list and actually active processes consuming CPU resources.
To get more information about what's hanging in the memory, you need to go to the extended menu, so in the list of recent tasks, you need to press and hold your finger on any window, and then in the corner of the screen (usually at the top right) there will be an icon of the lock or control menu, where you can fix important applications so that the system does not automatically close them when you clear the memory.
It’s worth noting that the visual list of running windows doesn’t display hidden services that don’t have a graphical interface. For example, the process of synchronizing the cloud or downloading a file in a browser may not have a window in the task list, but still be active, so relying on just a swipe menu to check background activity is not enough.
Using the Developer Menu for in-depth analysis
The most complete and technically competent way to see all the running processes is to use the Developer Menu, which shows a real picture of which packages are active in the system, how much RAM they take up and how long they last, and to get here, you need to click seven times on the build number in the About section.
Inside the developer menu, we're interested in Running Services, which is where you see a list of all active components. Unlike the standard task manager, this list shows system processes, Google Play services, drivers and application background tasks that are usually hidden from the user's eyes.
☑️ Setting up the developer mode
It is important to be careful when interacting with this menu.Stop system processes such as System UI or framework services can result in instant device reboot or temporary interface instability.Stop only for user applications whose behavior you are analyzing.
⚠️ Warning: Forced shutdown of system services through the developer menu can cause a cyclical reboot of the smartphone. If you are not sure about the purpose of the process, it is better not to touch it, but to limit yourself to observing memory consumption.
Configure background activity restrictions through Battery Saver
Shells. MIUI And HyperOS provides a flexible power management tool for each application installed separately, and it's the most efficient way to solve the problem when you want the application to run in the background, or vice versa, not to use charge. → Annexes → All applications.
When you select the application from the list, you go to Save Charge, where you have three options for the system: No Limits, Save Charge, and Severe Limits, and selecting No Limits mode ensures that the background process is not killed by the system even when memory is scarce.
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For instant messengers (Telegram, WhatsApp) and smart home always choose the “No Limits” mode, otherwise notifications may come with a delay or not at all.
Strong Constraint completely prevents an application from running in the background, which is useful for games or utilities that you rarely use, but which you like to hang in memory, and once you set this restriction, the application will only start when you open directly and immediately close after you fold.
Analysis of battery usage statistics as background indicator
A subtle but very graphic way to understand what works in the background is the battery consumption statistics: If you haven't opened an app for a few hours, but it's active for 1-2 hours in the statistics, it works in the background. You can find this information in Settings → Battery → Statistics.
This is a detailed diagram showing the screen time and the background activity time, and if you see an app with a high percentage of background activity that you don't need, it's a signal to check its permission settings, and it's often social media and news aggregators that are doing this.
| Type of application | Normal background activity | Sign of a problem | Recommended action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Messengers | High (permanent connect) | Lack of notification | Remove battery restrictions |
| Navigators. | High (GPS and network) | Resetting the route | Stick it in memory. |
| Games | Not available (only at launch) | Expense in idleness | Total limitation |
| Fitness trackers | Medium (synchronization) | No footstep data. | Allow auto-start |
By analyzing this table, you can quickly identify "parasitic" processes, for example, if a simple solitaire game shows 30 minutes of background activity per day, this is a clear anomaly that requires intervention in settings or deleting the application.
Managing Auto Start and Permits
In the Xiaomi ecosystem, there is a separate auto-start control mechanism that is closely related to the background work. Even if you close an application, it can restart automatically thanks to this permission» → Permits → Auto-start.
Turning off autorun for secondary applications is a great way to clear RAM and reduce CPU load, but for smart home applications (Mi Home, Yeelight) or activity trackers, this feature must be left on, otherwise devices will no longer be online when you fold the application.
Hidden Google Play Services
Also worth checking the permissions in the background in the section Settings → Privacy → Permission Manager → Background start (the path may vary depending on the version of Android).
The specifics of HyperOS and the difference from MIUI
With the release of HyperOS, memory algorithms have been redesigned, and the new system uses more aggressive caching and preloading of applications, which can create the illusion of memory clogging, when in fact it is optimizing for quick response. HyperOS has a new memory management menu available through the long-awaited tap on the memory widget.
The new shell has improved visualization of background processes, so that when you clean up your memory, it not only shows the amount of freed megabytes, but also highlights the applications that consume the most energy in the background, which helps the user identify the source of the problems faster.
Users who have moved from older versions of MIUI should get used to the fact that HyperOS decides which applications to keep in the background, based on use scenarios (time of day, geolocation, habits), Interfering with the system through third-party “task killers” in the new shell can lead to the opposite effect – increased battery consumption to constantly restart processes.
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In HyperOS, it’s better to rely on built-in optimization and manual exception settings for important applications than to try to completely ban the background operation of the system.
⚠️ Warning: Do not install third-party memory clinders (Clean Master and analogues) on modern Xiaomi. MIUI/HyperOS, causing unstable operation and heating of the device.